Brief History of The Barn Hotel

The farmhouse, Sherley's Farm, dates from about 1528 and we are advised that parts of the building may be over 100 years older. Sherley's Farm is unique in that it is the only complete farmhouse in Greater London and is a three frame house, whereas most buildings of this age are only two frames. Some of the oak frames used in the building were dragged here from the River Thames having been scavenged from old ships. It is rumoured that a ship’s name can be seen on one of the timbers, but we have not found it yet. Sherley's Farm now houses our luxury period rooms, including two four poster rooms, which are named after the six wives of Henry VIII.

The Collins family, pictured in the below photo, who lived and worked on the farm, would take logs and hay up to London weekly with a horse and cart. The logs would then be used for fuel in the big houses and factories in the city and the hay was to feed the city's working horses. In return, they would bring back manure from the city stables to be used as fertiliser in the local agriculture.

The two barns which are now part of the public areas date from the late 1590s. These were working buildings and they did not use the modern techniques we do today when they were built. The Leaning Barn, between reception and the bar, is a typical example. The barn got it's name because it leans at 16 degrees. When the reception was rebuilt in 2003 it was found that there were no foundations to the barn and the upright beams were set only six inches into the ground. We stabilised the building in conjunction with English Heritage by introducing two English Oak uprights which can be easily identified as they are the only two straight uprights in the building. These should keep the building standing for another 400 years!

The hotel has had an interesting past and we are told is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. It was a working farm until the early part of the 1950s, before becoming a riding school, then a nightclub where it is alleged there were sufficient lurid goings on that it merited mention in the News of the World! Before the bridge over the Underground railway was built the current driveway was the main London to Amersham road and in it’s day was notorious for Highwaymen!. The hotel started to come into being when the US Navy Intelligence Service set up camp in West Ruislip.

In 2003 the public areas were completely reworked, which included the addition of a new reception area and our fine dining restaurant, Hawtrey's. Hawtrey’s Restaurant has been awarded two rosettes for the quality of the food for the last 10 consecutive years and we hope you will have the opportunity to experience the food and ambience during your stay.

The most recent addition to the hotel is Deane’s Lodge, which hosts what are believed to be the best rooms in the area. The 18 luxury rooms include 5 suites themed after the travels of Marco Polo and include the Presidential Suite built over two floors.

We hope you will enjoy your visit to our hotel and if you would like more information on the hotel, it’s history or facilities, please do not hesitate to ask.